This is a Tivo question because I can go to the Tivo site, enter my zip code and be told specifically that XFinity On Demand is supported in my location., from here: http://www.tivo.com/discover/cable

That information - from Tivo - was a significant factor in my decision to purchase a Roamio.

So, with that said, a question...

I had an issue with XFinity On Demand. Two long phone calls to Comcast didn't resolve the problem. OK, stuff happens - so Comcast offered a technician to come out. To be fair, they arranged this quickly and with a small window (8am - 10am). I appreciated that.

Then it got interesting. The FIRST thing out the mouth of the technician was that On Demand wouldn't work without a cable box. I obviously pushed back. What was concerning was that not had he never heard of a Roamio - he hadn't heard that ANY Tivo worked with XFinity On Demand. He's been a technician at Comcast for two years.

I urged him to call second tier support. He ended up speaking to three folks (separate calls, each a minimum of 15 minutes). All of them started the conversation by saying it wasn't supported - I needed a Premier to get this working. One guy had a pretty bad tone ("Don't tell me how to do my job") and it was far from a pleasant experience.

Initially they made it worse. I had XFinity On Demand show up since I plugged in my Roamio two days ago but it froze when I played content. They pretty quickly changed their configuration to a Premium (for my Tivo) and the On Demand option went away completely. That's when they piled on even more and went down the "Not our problem - speak to Tivo" path.

I was just about to start to get angry - when it showed up AND worked again. They verbally patted each other on the back and now I have ON Demand.

But...

This was a REALLY bad experience. Yes, I'm kind of kidding with the Tivo Rep thing but I am kind of curious how much level of awareness and expertize Tivo demands of Comcast that allows Tivo to exclaim "it works"? I'd really be interested in Tivo's thoughts on my experience - and whether it is acceptable that a partner is sending out technicians who have no idea about On Demand support (even in older model).

I had a Charter tech tell me that their system would not work with TiVo at all because they weren't all digital and their CableCARDs wouldn't pair. First off it was a TiVo HD, which supports analog. Secondly I was installing this for my Sister, who live across the street from me, where I have 3 working TiVos with the same CableCARDs.

Basically these guys are ignorant to how TiVos work and their first instinct is to simply say they don't support them. They get zero training from their company about them and if they run into any problems they usually just want to blame TiVo and leave.

It's a real PITA to be a TiVo customer some times. This is why I'm both excited and terrified to get my new Roamio. I'm excited to get the Roamio itself but terrified of all the work it's going to be to actually get the CableCARD paired.

Other than my internal networking issues which I've resolved (incompatible switches). My conversion from a Series 3 and Series 1 has been nothing short of magnificent. Okay, one glitch. The web based Season Pass Manager only properly transferred shows that had episodes actually coming up in the next two weeks. Any show that didn't have an available show it could see became corrupted with only the channel information. Fortunately my wife has a whole list of our season passes and can re-create them.
On the other hand, installation and provisioning both with TiVo and Comcast has been incredibly easy. And after 2 days, XFinity on Demand showed up on both the Roamio Plus and the Mini. Shows transferred over from the S3, and all seems to be working smoothly. I'm very very impressed and happy (once I figured out my switch issue.).

Okay, one glitch. The web based Season Pass Manager only properly transferred shows that had episodes actually coming up in the next two weeks. Any show that didn't have an available show it could see became corrupted with only the channel information. Fortunately my wife has a whole list of our season passes and can re-create them.

If you just leave those alone they will repopulate with all the information as the shows become available in the guide. When my wife switched to a Premiere last year she had a ton of SPs like this. We left them alone and now they've all filled back in. (except the ones for shows that were actually canceled)

Comcast are just a bunch of stupid ****ers, excuse my language. I feel your pain.

But Comcast is spending millions of dollars on an ad campaign to tell us how much they care! They must be good, right? (Oh, wait, they had to layoff most of their older, higher paid techs to pay for the ad campaign - OK, I made that up).

When dealing with Comcast, it may be necessary to call in multiple times until you find a CSR that knows what they are doing. Sometimes I've found that even when it sounds like they know what they are doing they still may not. Try not to become discouraged or angry, just try again.

Also, don't mention 'new Tivo', S5, or Roamio, it will only confuse them. They should be on a need to know basis and they only need to know it's a Tivo that requires a cablecard to be paired.

My town is never on the list. Has Xfinity ever said how long it would take to get the entire country going On Demand? We have the new all digital system, all the HD channels moved to the 1000-9999 range, but no On Demand for Tivo yet. I just plug my laptop into the TV when I want to watch something, but it would seem like it shouldnt be THAT big a deal for them to roll it out everywhere. What is involved on their end to make it work?

I feel that Comcast has gotten A LOT better paring Tivo's and getting ch's working. When I called the CC line twice to pair my two different Tivo's both calls lasted no more then 6 mins. In the past it was a BIG ordeal. It seems like Tivo has been working with Comcast to train their CC staff better.

All my ch's and On demand worked perfect both times. The phone's reps were also VERY aware about the workings of the Tivo. Both knew exactly where in the menu's to go when we were checking stuff.

However I do feel your pain of a "bad" rep. In the past I have goon through similar problems and they always answer with "you need our cable box for HBO".

I had two CableCard experiences with Comcast. One for a newly released HDHomeRun Prime, and one with my Tivo Premiere XL4.

HDHR Prime (2 years ago; prior to CC self installs): Since the Prime was very new, the online forums recommended that I tell Comcast that it was a Tivo in order to avoid the "It's not supported" response. The tech, who was late by several hours, came in and said, "That's not a Tivo". I urged him to insert the card and start the process. Once Windows Media Center showed the CableCard info, he called it in to get the CC paired, but only the basic digital channels showed up after the firmware downloaded and the pairing process completed. Of course he didn't know what to do, so he called support and spent several minutes double checking my account to ensure I was setup for my specific channel package. The tech said everything checked out in the system, but a majority of the channels were still missing. Additionally, the HDHR Prime status screen still didn't have a positive indication that it was paired correctly. He gave up and left. Luckily, before calling Comcast, I decided to reboot the Prime and the computer. Once they booted, everything was working beautifully.

Tivo Premier XL4 (1 year ago, CC self install): I picked up the CC at the Comcast local office and they gave me a decent instruction sheet that told me where to find all the numbers needed for the CC pairing phone call. Once home, I went through the Tivo guided setup until I got to the CC screen and carefully wrote down all the numbers. I then called the Comcast CC line and was connected to an excellent tech rep. I told her that I had a Tivo, she quickly verified my account info, and I provided the required numbers. Once the numbers were verbally verified, she said it should be working now. I finished the Tivo setup while she was on the phone, then I checked HBO and some other premium HD channels. Everything was working within minutes. I said "thank you" and hung up. I was completely floored how quick and easy it was after reading all the horror stories. Hopefully I'll have the same experience with my Roamio. I've already verified that my CC supports 6 streams with the minimum firmware rev.

my Bright House rep tried to set up a truck roll when i told her I need to re pair my cable card when moving from my old Premiere to my Roamio, then transferred me to the wrong department when I asked for second level tech support